The Moto 360 will display information just like everything else

Square, round — it's all the same to Android Wear

While LG and Samsung have already offered up everything we need to know about how Android Wear functions and what kind of features we can expect from future devices — at least until Google changes things, which certainly will happen in some respect — the unique shape of the Moto 360 still leaves some room for discussion. The round design is undeniably beautiful, as we know from our brief time with it, and we know that it certainly looks and feels like a significantly higher-quality device than the current Android Wear offerings.

But what exactly does that round design give or take away? It turns out you don't really gain or lose anything, but a handful of subtle differences could push you further into the yes category for a Moto 360.

Google's restrictions on Android Wear ensure that there's not really going to be a functional difference in how you use the Moto 360. Motorola is working hard to set themselves apart in hardware, and while that will almost assuredly mean a larger price tag you're getting a superior product in the end. While the round display means there's more space for Android Wear to display content, those added pixels won't be doing much for you. In fact, in a post by Google's Roman Nurik just before Android Wear was shown off at Google I/O, we clearly saw what the plans for round watches are.

Everything is going to look and act almost exactly the same. You'll get your notifications as little cards on the bottom of the display, swipe through them to interact, and if you're a big fan of talking at your wrist you can do that as well. When displaying most things, the round display will just mean that there's extra space around the information to show off whatever is in the background. In the example given here, that means you'll get to see more of the beautiful photo in the background. In other cases where there's just a generic repeating pattern in the background, it means you get to see more of nothing. In fact, while it's only an 8x8 dp difference, the square watch technically has more space dedicated to showing your information.

In the end, you'll be getting the same thing out of software that you are with hardware, just in a more beautiful experience. It's not a huge deal to everyone — in fact there are plenty of folks out there who prefer the square design. But as you look at the whole picture for Motorola's smartwatch, it is becoming an increasingly difficult device to say no to.